Taiwan Rock Climbing & Bouldering

Posted by Ya-Te Chen on

March 10, 2018

Paul Foster(傅抱仁), a sinologist and rock climber, is also a participant in the development of Long Dong 30 years ago. He did some impressive FAs, such as “One Way Ticket,” and, moreover, is the first person who systematically compiled the topos and route information of Long Dong. You may call it the first LD guidebook. Before that, there were only scattered topo pages or booklets. The names of climbing areas that are so familiar to us today, such as Back Door or Grand Auditorium, are also formally recorded for the first time in this book.

This guidebook is now scanned into an PDF file that is open for download for everyone interested in the history of Long Dong. Many, many thanks to Ta-chi Wang, who shared the original documents, and Maurice Chen, who took the tedious task of electronification!

Posted by Ya-Te Chen on

January 7, 2018

“Rock Climbing Taiwan” is written in 2016 by Nathan Ball. It contains a great deal of information of many climbing areas that had scattered or only word-of-mouth information before, including details and topos of Rehai 熱海, Shoushan 壽山, Heren 和仁, Kenting 墾丁大尖山, and the big wall of Zhenshan 針山大岩壁. Many new routes and new areas in Long Dong, Rehai and Shoushan that have been put up in recent years are also included in this ebook.

Thanks to all those help putting up and making records of these areas and routes. There are indeed still many places in Taiwan with great climbing potential!

*Note: Some climbing areas in this ebook are located in restricted zones and may require a permit.

Posted by Ya-Te Chen on

December 10, 2017

With many years’ efforts, a few great natural bouldering areas are cleaned and well documented mostly by Roger Wu along with other fellow boulderers. Detailed guidebooks are accessible here, including:

Posted by Danger on

July 23, 2013

Google “Climb harder” and you’ll get a ton of resources — mostly crap. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

And so, today in 2013, the best resources for learning to climb better, outside of hiring a dedicated coach, are still old-fashioned books and videos.

But even within this realm, not all is equal. Numerous books claim to help you “Climb 5.12″, but when it comes down to the wire which ones can actually translate your money into higher grades on the rock?

Throughout the reams of paper printed about climbing, a few tomes have stood out over the years and today are often referenced by both hard climbers and esteemed coaches as being the most effective.

These modern climbing classics are:

Performance Rock Climbing

Published: 1994

Price: $18

208 pages

Rating:

PRC is the definition of a classic – a well written book on climbing performance based on well-backed principles of sports science that has stood the test of time. The key value of PRC is how well researched it was– bringing solidly-backed principles of sports science to climbing –written in a way that’s accessible to the newest of the newbies.

If you don’t know what an engram is, the importance of specificity, and can’t tell the difference between aerobic and anaerobic endurance, you should read this book.

Not Suitable for: The 5.12 climber who already has a solid understanding of training principles for climbing.

The Self Coached Climber

Published: 2006

Price: ~$25(Book + DVD)

240 pages

Rating:

The Self Coached Climber caused a minor revolution in climbing when it came out in 2006. Today it is still considered the Bible of climbing performance and is one of, if not the most cited book on the topic.

Whereas climbing movement has traditionally been broken down into specific moves(drop knees, flags, high steps, etc.) SCC’s treatement of Climbing movement is more holistic and created a theoretical framework and vocabulary for discussing both static and dynamic movement.

In addition to the excellent coverage of movement, SCC talks about climbing physiology and physical aspects of training on a deeper level than PRC, giving advanced climbers a better understanding of climbing performance how to build more effective training plans.

While the text can be a bit heavy, the included DVD with exercises is accessible for anyone, and following the exercises will almost guarantee an improvement in climbing movement and balance.

If you can’t tell already, this book is more involved than PRC, but as with many things what you get out of it is what you put in. If you are ready for the next step, SCC will take you there, and beyond.

Suitable for: Intermediate to Advanced climbers who have hit a wall in their training.

Not suitable for: People put off by textbook – style writing.

9 Out of 10 Climbers Make the Same Mistakes

Published: 2009

Price: ~$24 Shipped Worldwide

176 pages

Rating:

Written by acclaimed climber and coach Dave Macleod, 9 out of 10 is one of those books which has gained its popularity not off gimmicks or even marketing(there’s practically been none), but off strict word-of-mouth — strong climbers telling other climbers to read this book.

I was personally recommended and lent this book by a personal friend much stronger than I. Though at the time I had already read PRC and some of SCC, I took it upon myself to read this text-only book and found to my great surprise that it was even more powerful in some ways than the other books.

In the same way that a good coach can make a huge impact on an athletes progression, 9 out of 10 is like a seasoned veteran whispering in your ear, pointing out tips and tricks that will save you months if not years of time on your path to getting stronger.

9 out of 10 is probably best read as a supplement to either PRC or SCC, but even by itself is one of the most useful books on climbing better out there.

Suitable for: Every climber

Not suitable for: The illiterate

Neil Gresham’s MasterClass DVDs

Published: 2005

1 hour 41 minutes

Rating:

Neil Gresham is a British Climbing Coach, and his MasterClass videos are one of the most useful materials for learning climbing technique outside of an actual instructor. If anyone has told you “need to work on your footwork” and you have wondered what the hell they were on about, this video shows you exactly that, very specifically and clearly.

The narration is chock-full of good advice and the video is clear at both illustrating technique, as well as showing the benefits of using good technique compared to hulking your way up the wall.

For a deeper analysis of movement and long term improvement, SCC is arguably more powerful, but for the average climber, Neil’s Masterclass is possibly the most effective video for immediate gains on the rock.

Posted by Danger on

June 27, 2012

Guanziling is a limestone climbing area between Tainan and Chiayi. Not as developed or as famous as Long Dong, it nevertheless has its devoted climbers.

Basic Info

Published in 2003 and retailing at 250 TWD, the Guanzailing Climbing Guidebook is a simple guidebook to the Guanziling area that, while rudimentary, does provide you with all the information you need to get to the crag and have fun.